Where’s Mah Refund?!

 Accounting Stuff, Geek Wannabe, General  Comments Off on Where’s Mah Refund?!
Apr 152009
 

If you live in the States, today’s a big deadline day. We actually filed our taxes about a month ago—we owed a little to the state, are due a little back from the feds.

The state’s already taken their cut. I notice the feds are being quite leisurely about the refund, though.

Still no news on the job front. I continue to send in resumes to likely-looking prospects, although most job ads stipulate two to four years of experience in accounting. If they only ask for two years I’ll send ’em a resume anyway, pitching the notion that my two and a half years of classes getting the A.A.S. counts as “experience in accounting.” Worth a try.

Most of my leads come from our local Craigslist. Now and then some loser will post a “data entry” job, which invariably turns out to be some online-survey scheme they want to sell you on. But most ads are legit offers, and it’s worth checking CL daily. CareerBuilder and Monster I only check once a week, along with a few other job boards.

I keep thinking I should go to a temp agency and sign on for some kind of short-term clerical work, just to have some recent job experience and references. Alpha Geek feels I wouldn’t make enough at such a job to be worth the tax hit we’d take from the added income.

He’s using his own job loss to get his fledgling business off the ground. He’d been running it on weekends when he was employed, but now he can work it full-time and he’s really ramping it up. We’re cautiously optimistic that he can have it generating an income equal to our expenses before our savings run out at the end of the year.

And I’m not a huge fan of the big government bailout, but I do like the fact that the stimulus plan includes a COBRA subsidy that will cover 65% of our premium. That should help our savings stretch a little farther.

 Posted by at 5:59 pm

Diploma Absentia

 Accounting Stuff, Geek Wannabe, General  Comments Off on Diploma Absentia
Jan 072009
 

I assumed that once I completed all the required courses, the college would send my diploma. I don’t plan to attend the graduation ceremony, so why make me wait until summer?

You know what they say about “assume.”

Turns out they only give out the diplomas in May. So, while I have completed all the requirements for an Accounting A.A.S., I won’t technically have the degree for four more months.

*stabbity*

Actually, I don’t much care—I know I earned it, I’ve got all the knowledge in my head ready to go. The only reason I want the paper is for the benefit of potential employers. And they can just call up the registrar’s office and confirm that I’ve got it, right?

Luckily my husband has worked on the other side of the hiring desk, and was able to set me straight. Potential employers can call the registrar’s office and ask if I have the degree. The registrar can then answer yes or no. Because of privacy laws, they cannot elaborate; they cannot say “No, but she’s done all the coursework and she’ll get it this summer.”

So I’ve updated my resume now to say “I have completed all required coursework for an Accounting A.A.S. and will receive the degree in May.”

Good grief. I haven’t even gotten into the corporate world yet and I already have to learn the lingo.

 Posted by at 10:11 pm

I Can Has Paycheck?

 Accounting Stuff, Geek Wannabe, General  Comments Off on I Can Has Paycheck?
Nov 072008
 

Had another job interview today—I hate to say I think it went well, because that’s what I thought of the last two job interviews, and then I never heard from them. But… I think it went well. By the end of the interview we were discussing the hypothetical hours I would work, my career goals for the foreseeable future, and what kind of pay I was looking for.

The place is essentially an accountant stable; they rent accountants to companies that aren’t big enough to have their own accounting department. They are flexible on their hours, so if I wanted to continue on the schooling track in pursuit of my CPA I could do that while working part-time. I would probably have to work over some Saturdays during tax season, but I expect that’s pretty much standard for any accounting job.

Keep your fingers crossed!

 Posted by at 8:45 pm
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